


Here For You

by Rissalena



Category: The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 09:10:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18340592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rissalena/pseuds/Rissalena
Summary: "I will always come for you. No matter what happens with the Library, or your family, or the Fae, I will always find you."





	Here For You

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little drabble one shot of Irene/Kai
> 
> Set immediately after The Masked City

It was late by the time Irene reached the lodgings she shared with Kai. She’d spent a long day in what could only be described as a trial before the Senior Librarians, resulting in her being put on probation, but ultimately being allowed to return to her post as Librarian in Residence. And to Kai. She hoped that he’d be there, they hadn’t really had time to talk during the trip back from Venice. She knew, however, that he would more than likely be at Vale’s, surely not wanting to be alone, and as much as she wanted to visit with Vale as well, she always had to be slightly more on point with him, and she was far too tired for that. So she pushed the door open with a sigh, resolving to write a quick note to Kai and Vale and send it off with an errand boy, to at least let them know she was back.

“Irene?” came a familiar voice from the sitting room. She relaxed slightly as Kai came around the corner, no hesitation in his movement as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. “You’re back”, he said, relief flooding his voice. “Are you alright?”, he asked, still not letting her go.

“Yes, everything's fine”, she replied, knowing he would understand that meant she was there to stay. “I thought you would be at Vale’s”.

“I wanted to be here if … when you got back. I know you’d have come to Vale’s, but …” he blushed slightly, “I didn’t want to have to share you with him right away,” he said, suddenly stepping back to look at her in concern. “Did … did you want to be alone?”

“No”, she said vehemently, immediately embarrassed at the veracity of the outburst. “No, I wanted to see you, I just don’t have the energy for Vale right now. I’d resigned myself to just going to bed and seeing you both tomorrow. But I’m glad you’re here”. She tried to sound as neutral as possible.

Kai smiled, knowing that was as vulnerable as she’d ever allow herself to be around someone, and pulled her back into an embrace. “Do you want to talk about it, or would you prefer a bath first?”

A bath. She hadn’t realized how badly she wanted one until Kai said that, but suddenly it seemed like the solution to all the world’s problems. “A bath sounds divine”, she said a little wistfully, and Kai chuckled. “I promise I won’t be long.” She pulled out of his arms and headed to the stairs.

“I’ll be here,” Kai said, and she smiled down at him, this time letting him see her gratitude for his constant, solid presence.

An hour later, she was feeling much better. Baths had a way of soothing all manner of ills, so she wrapped herself up in her warmest dressing gown and made her way back downstairs. Kai was still in the sitting room, the fire was blazing, and he had a glass of brandy waiting for her. Everything was going to be alright. She took the glass and sat down in the wingback chair nearest the fire, curling her legs up under her as Kai sat in the chair across from her.

“What happened?” Kai asked after a brief moment. “

Nothing too awful”, she said, trying to sound lighthearted. As much as she wanted to open herself up and just spill all her fears and doubts, she knew Kai held himself responsible for the position she’d been put in, and it was her job to help ease that guilt, not make it worse. “I sat down with Coppelia and a couple other senior Librarians and told them everything that happened. Coppelia attested to your uncle’s endorsement of my actions, and they put me on probation.”

“Probation!” Kai said in outrage. “You saved my life! You prevented a war! And they still put you on probation?”.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, really”, she said, trying to calm him down. “It was more political than anything, they couldn’t just give me a stern talking to and send me on my way. I abandoned my post, it would send the wrong message if I didn’t receive some sort of punishment. But it doesn’t really mean anything, I’m still the Library in Residence here, you’re still my apprentice, everything worked out.”

Kai leaned back in his chair, looking unconvinced, but let it go.

“Ok”, Irene said, putting down her now empty brandy glass, “Your turn”.

“What?” Kai asked in confusion. “My turn for what?”

“Tell me everything that happened to you.”

“Irene …” Kai trailed off, staring down into his own glass of brandy.

“Kai”, Irene said gently, leaning forward to put a reassuring hand on his arm, “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but that’s exactly why you must. The more you let it out, the less hold it will have on you. If you don’t want to talk about it with me, I, of course, understand, but then you must promise me you’ll talk about it with someone else, perhaps Vale, or Li Ming.”

He snorted slightly, “If I’m unwilling to talk about it with you, imagine how unwilling I am to talk about with either of them”.

Irene didn’t respond, she simply waited for him to continue. He sighed. “Alright, if you insist”.

Once he started speaking, he couldn’t stop. Everything came pouring out, every moment of anger he’d felt at his kidnappers, at himself, every moment of fear that no one would ever find him, the one or two moments he’d allowed himself to hope that Irene really was out there looking for him, and finally the relief, the sheer and utter relief he felt when he saw her.

“I’d all but given up hope”, he said, staring into the fire. “I had started to think of ways to kill myself, I thought that might be my only escape, and then suddenly, you were there. You were there and you were real and you were holding me and …”, he cut himself off as his voice became too thick with emotion to continue. Irene stood and crossed over to his chair, crouching in front of him and putting one hand on his knee, the other on his cheek, forcing his face up to meet her eyes.

“I would never have left you there, Kai. I would have crossed oceans, worlds, to get to you. I did, in fact”, she said with a slight chuckle, managing to eke a smile out of Kai. Her face turned serious again. “I mean it, though. I found you in the deep end of Chaos, there is nowhere they could have taken you that I would not have found you”, she said fiercely. “It’s …” _It’s my job_ … she’d started to say, but decided, in that moment, he deserved to know that he was so much more than a job to her. She brought her other hand up to cup his face in both her hands. “I will always come for you. No matter what happens with the Library, or your family, or the Fae, I will always find you”. She’d let out more of herself than she’d intended to, but she’d been bottling a lot of feelings up since Kai had been taken.

He didn’t say anything, he just grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up, dragging her onto his lap so he could wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her shoulder. He didn’t cry, he just held her, and against her better judgement she held him back, one hand running through his hair as she whispered soothing nonsense to him.

Eventually she felt him sigh, and he raised his head to look at her. “Thank you”, he said simply. They stared at each other, the air heavy between them, and for a moment she thought he might kiss her. For a moment she thought she might let him. Then her common sense reasserted itself and she cleared her throat, standing and running a hand through her hair.

“You should get some rest”, she said, busying herself with tidying up the brandy glasses.

“Irene …” Kai said, his fingers twitching as he resisted the urge to reach for her again.

“We’ll both feel better in the morning”, she said, depositing the glasses on the sideboard and heading for the stairs. “You know where I am if you need me”.

Kai nodded and turned to put out the fire as Irene disappeared upstairs. He followed her up shortly, forcing himself to turn towards his own room instead of hers. He certainly would have preferred to spend the night in her bed, but at least he’d be able to go sleep with the feeling of her in his arms fresh in his memory. It would have to do for now.


End file.
